Palestinian Incitement Of Hate Against Israel Is A Crime--The Crime of Genocide

Dr. Joel Fishman, a historian and a fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs has written a powerful article, distinguished by the new perspectives it provides on what has become an old and continuing problem: Palestinian incitement.

His article, Palestinian Incitement: The Real “Deal Breaker” (PDF) analyzes a phenomenon ignored by the West, the media and by those human rights groups who supposedly are concerned with war crimes outside of the state of Israel.

Examining the issues the likes of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International ignore, Dr. Fishman details how Palestinian incitement is a violation of the Crime of Genocide as outlined in the 1948 Genocide Convention

As we know from experience, incitement that is diffused publicly for the purpose of encouraging others to commit an offense is a grave matter because it can well be criminal. It provides the means for translating hatred into an interpretive framework (to use Herf’s formulation) and, for example, was identified in the genocidal crimes that took place in Rwanda. Moreover, the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide has identified direct and public incitement as a crime, whether or not it results in genocide. Robert Cryer, in his entry on incitement in The Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity, described the nature of this crime:

Direct and public incitement to commit genocide is criminalized in Article III( c ) of the 1948 Genocide Convention. A provision akin to Article III ( c ) can be found in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Article 25 (3) (e)). Incitement is one of a limited group of crimes related to genocide (the others are attempts at genocide and conspiracy to commit genocide) which do not require the commission of one of the genocidal acts set out in Article II of the 1948 Genocide Convention. Incitement, attempt, and conspiracy are crimes in themselves. As none of these offenses requires an act of genocide to be committed, they are referred to as inchoate (incomplete) crimes. Their incompleteness does not change the fact that they are criminal...(emphasis added)

Dr. Fishman continues:

Scholars in the relatively new field of genocide studies have also recognized the danger of incitement. Gregory H. Stanton, president of Genocide Watch, described what he termed “The Eight Stages of Genocide” in a 1996 briefing paper, which he originally presented at the American State Department. According to Stanton, these are the eight identifiable stages:

1) Classification
2) Symbolization
3) Dehumanization
4) Organization
5) Polarization
6) Preparation
7) Extermination
8) Denial.

Incitement belongs to stage 3, which Stanton described as Dehumanization: One denies the humanity of the other group, the members of which are equated with animals (such as apes and pigs) vermin, insects, or diseases. Dehumanization numbs the normal human revulsion against murder. At this stage, hate propaganda in print and on radio is used to vilify the victim group. In combating this dehumanization, incitement to genocide should not be confused with protected speech. Genocidal societies lack constitutional protection for countervailing speech and should be treated differently than democracies. Local and international leaders should condemn the use of hate speech and make it culturally unacceptable. Leaders who incite to genocide should be banned from international travel and have their foreign finances frozen. Hate radio stations should be shut down, and hate propaganda banned. Hate crimes and atrocities should be promptly punished.”13

Stanton’s description, which is based on concrete historical experience, offers a
chillingly accurate characterization of Palestinian incitement today. (emphasis added)

In the rest of his article, Dr. Fishman examines how the Palestinian incitement of hatred against Israel is not arbitrary, but rather is part of a deliberate and ongoing strategy--combined with diplomacy and terrorism--to weaken and eventually destroy Israel.

Palestinian Incitement: The Real “Deal Breaker” is a important article on a topic that has been dismissed and ignored by the world community for too long.

Technorati Tag: Incitement and Genocide.